Getting Competitive About Chili

America loves to eat chili.  America loves competition and winning.  Last week I – a Scottish lass - entered a very American chili contest. 


My friends and I from Crepes By The Sea in Delray Beach Florida had this idea that it would be fun to enter the local chili cook-off as a way of generating some buzz and excitement for their creperie.  This idea, like many of the greatest ideas ever made, was hasty, had no prior thought put into it, a bucket load of bravado and nothing to back it up…  And so, in just under ten minutes we went from the initial idea of creating a chili crepe - to registering it in a chili cooking competition.  Following the great rush of excitement it became clear that I would be making the chili as they have an entire creperie to run and I have a “decent chili recipe”.   Feeling rather smug with myself at the thought of this little marketing stunt, I stepped into the fresh air and considered the fact that I’d just put myself forward for making enough chili to feed an army of spectators, and that said spectators and a team of chefs would be judging our efforts. 

Here’s how it went down:  I called my boyfriend who seemed mildly amused and told me that my chili tasted leathery and would I be making that recipe?  I told him that leathery wasn’t a good way to describe food.  I then went back to the drawing board…  Chili is no laughing matter, chili is a big deal, it’s highly revered and everyone has an opinion about it - too spicy, not spicy enough.  Beans or no beans?  Which cut of meat?  I opted for my own “leathery” variety, borrowed a mini food processor from my lovely neighbor and got down to the business of creating a puree that would be the base of my chili (see recipe below).  3 hours later I came out of the kitchen, one pot down and another pot to go.  The following day I took the first batch to my friends at Crepes by the Sea and we spun out a couple of fresh crepes, filled them with a blend of four cheeses, added a spoonful of my chili and topped it off with a dash of their own chipotle hot sauce and tasted.  It was good; it was really good.  It’s the kind of food that would satisfy a late night hunger: a warm fresh crepe, smoked cheese, the spice from the chili and the heat from the hot sauce.  We were dreaming of cold Corona’s and high-fiving our efforts.  Smugness had returned!  

The big day arrived.  I naively rocked up to the competition 15 minutes before it was due to begin to find that the other contenders had already set up and were trading stories of previous competitions they’d entered.  We set up next to a nice guy called Peter who was showcasing his ‘Montana Saddleback Chili’ that used prime Montana beef that had been tenderizing for three days.  I flirted with the idea that we were in big trouble but then I realized that the crock-pot wasn’t working.  We were minutes away from the competition beginning and we had stone cold chili, I was no longer flirting with the idea of being in trouble; we were in trouble.  Quick thinking and more high-fiving prevailed and 25 minutes into the competition we were ready to serve up our first Chili by the Sea Crepe.  The first few crepes were whisked off to the judges and then the spectators dived in.  Chili crepes were flying out of our hands as quick as we could fill and fold them.  Jeff, our crepe maestro, was spinning crepes at a spectacular rate and we were running out of key ingredients.  Local kids were roped into running errands for cheese and hot sauce.  Peter was down, he ran out of chili with 50 minutes of the competition to go but we rallied on.  Thirsty and hot (too much alcohol the night before) and with 20 minutes to go we handed out the last Chili by the Sea Crepe.  Done! 

It was a long and agonizing wait, agonizing because of the previous nights escapades on the dance floor but finally the big results were in.  Two categories: Chef’s choice and Public’s choice.  Our new buddy Peter took second place in chef’s choice and the first place was announced….  And we took it!  We blew this local competition out of proportion, high-fived everyone, whooped and hollered and smiled for all of the photos.  Smugness reigns supreme! 

Chili by the Sea

In the competition we served the chili on a fresh crepe with a blend of four cheeses (any strong or smoked cheese works) and a dash of hot sauce. 

Chili recipe

1.5 pounds of ground Sirloin

1.5 pounds of ground Round

2 onions, diced

2 bell peppers, diced (any color)

1 tin of black beans

1 tin of pinto beans (use whatever beans your prefer)

1 tin of diced tomatoes (drain the juice out)

1 bottle of Corona or similar Mexican lager

For puree

½ can of chipotle peppers

1 fresh jalapeno pepper (I used half of the seeds but it depends on how hot you like it)

2 tablespoons of chili powder

1 tablespoon of cumin

1 tablespoon of paprika

Dark chocolate (I used 4 pieces out of a bar but you can use less or more)

1 teaspoon of brown sugar

4 tablespoons of tomato ketchup

1 tablespoon of Marmite (I used this to add a stock quality but you can use a stock cube or actual beef stock)

Directions

1.    Take all of your puree ingredients and blend them in a food processor.  I used a mini-processor and it worked really well.  At this point taste your puree as this is not an exact science and you may prefer a little more spice or sweetness for example.

2.    Brown your meat and add in the onions and let them sweat off.  If the meat has given off a lot of fat and juice then drain that off though not completely.

3.    Add in half of your puree and let the meat and onions cook off.  Add in the peppers and let them cook for a couple of minutes. 

4.    Add in the rest of your puree and cook for 1-2 minutes. 

5.    Add in the drained tomatoes.

6.    At this point check the consistency of your chili (it will depend on how much juice the meat has given off) I added in approximately half of my lager but you may add in less or more depending on the thickness of your chili.  If you haven’t used marmite or another stock in your puree then you may want to add in some beef stock at this point. 

7.    Drain the beans and add them to your pot.

8.    Bring your chili to the boil and then turn the heat right down and let your chili simmer and come together.

9.    Check your chili every 30-40 minutes to make sure it’s not drying out.  Simmer the chili for approximately 2 hours but if you don’t have the time then bring the chili to the boil and simmer it for 30 minutes and it will be just as good.  

Thank You to Crepes By The Sea as this whole experience 

was a tremendous amount of fun!

www.crepesbythesea.com